POLI 411 EXAM ONE QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026

POLI 411 EXAM ONE QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026 barron v baltimore (1833) - Answers First case asking the court to use the bill of rights against the states, court ruled that the BoR applies only to federal gov hurtado v CA (1884) - Answers indicted via information--Court ruled that the due process clause protects only principles which are fundamental to liberty, Hurtado's claim did not qualify, JMH Dissent argued for full incorporation Palko v CT (1937) - Answers Double Jeopardy case, established selective incorporation-- First time the court allowed the idea of selective incorporation, but Palka's claim did not qualify Reynolds v US (1879) - Answers Court ruled that one cannot use religion as a defense to the crime of polygamy. Court ruled that religious practices that impair the public interest do not fall under the First Amendment. It was an incidental interference. Employment division v Smith (1990) - Answers The Court ruled that the state does not have to make an exception to secular laws for religious groups, established the Smith Test/Rational Basis Test Tandon v Newsom (2021) - Answers Modified the Smith test and added a MFN protection to religious groups. Covid gathering regulations challenge Fulton v Philly (2021) - Answers Court applied the MFN test, ruled that it was unconstitutional for the adoption commissioner to make possible exemptions for some agencies but not for CSS Abington v Schempp (1963) - Answers Bible readings in school for a moral lesson, students could opt out, court ruled that there was not a true secular purpose, violation of establishment, shows that the court does not take state purpose at face value Lynch v Donnelly (1984) - Answers Court ruled that RI holiday display was not a violation of the establishment clause because there was secular christmas content, and a valid secular interest Santa Fe Independent School District v Doe (2000) - Answers school prayer before football games-- court ruled that the new policy was still aimed at the religious goal, not a true secular purpose McCreary County v ACLU (2005) - Answers Hanging a framed copy of the Ten Commandments in a Kentucky courthouse violated the Establishment Clause, even if they added secular images later, the purpose was always to display the commandments as a religious doctrine Van Orden v Perry (2005) - Answers TX monument with historical images including the commandments is not a violation of establishment clause since the purpose was always secular Edwards v Aguillard (1987) - Answers Court ruled invalid a law that required teaching of either both or neither of evolution theory and creation theory because the result is advancing religion Hosanna-Tabor v EEOC (2012) - Answers Court ruled that it is not a violation of establishment for churches to be exempt from civic laws regarding employment of ministers. It is not an advancement of religious interest. Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad v Chicago - Answers the city claimed private land to expand industrialization, but railroad owners were not given just compensation, and the court ruled that this was a violation of the 5th amendment takings clause -- bound the states to that clause Maxwell v Dow - Answers asked the court to find that the 5th and 6th amendments were violated by UT provision for 8 person rather than 12 person jury, asked the court to incorporate those amendments, court refused to do so Twinning v NJ - Answers SC refused to incorporate the self-incrimination clause to the states, however the SC opinion explicitly left the door open to future incorporation under the due process clause Gitlow v NY - Answers incorporated the free speech and press provisions to the state, but upheld Gitlow's arrest for communism -- one of the leaders of the socialist party Adamson v CA - Answers court upheld the Palka decision and refused to incorporate self-incrimination clause Duncan v LA - Answers incorporated trial by jury for misdemanors to the state and claimed that the 6th amendment claim should be applied to the states via the 14th amendment US V Carolene Products - Answers established a doctrine called "preferred freedoms" where the burden of proof shifts to the government in cases alleging an infringement upon personal freedoms by laws, and the government must prove it's the least restrictive option possible. US v Ballard - Answers 1944 case established that as as long as a person accepted their beliefs in good faith that it is not the government's authority to determine whether those beliefs are true. Established sincerity as a factor in defining religion. US v Seeger - Answers Court ruled that sincerity of belief was key for military religious exemptions, and that belief need not be tied to an organized religion Welsh v US - Answers Court ruled that even if objection is not based on traditional religious grounds, if a moral objection is made with the same sincerity as a religious one, it counts for exception from military Pierce v Society of Sisters - Answers court abandoned the belief-action distinction, court ruled in favor of a church who sued when OR state law closed all independent schools Cantwell v CT - Answers Cantwell was a jehovah's witness and was arrested for soliciting money in a